Erik Rees, chairman of the Jessie Rees Foundation gives a motivational speech, "Never Ever Give Up!" during the 2014 Orange County Register Salute to Every Day Heroes awards dinner at the Montage Laguna Beach. ///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: everydayheroes.0121 â?" 1/19/15 â?" LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER - _LOR3641.NEF - Coverage of this year's Salute to Everyday Heroes Awards Dinner at the Montage Laguna Beach. The event will honor folks from the Register's 2014 series of stories on Everyday Heroes. A majority of the 52 people we featured during the year will be attending, but only two -- the Youth Hero of the Year, Gibson Wagner, and the Hero of the Year, Jim Carson.

Gibson Wagner, left, accepts his 2014 Youth Hero of the Year award from Orange County Register publisher Rich Mirman during the 2014 Orange County Register Salute to Every Day Heroes awards dinner at the Montage Laguna Beach. ///ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: everydayheroes.0121 â?" 1/19/15 â?" LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER - _LOR3703.NEF - Coverage of this year's Salute to Everyday Heroes Awards Dinner at the Montage Laguna Beach. The event will honor folks from the Register's 2014 series of stories on Everyday Heroes. A majority of the 52 people we featured during the year will be attending, but only two -- the Youth Hero of the Year, Gibson Wagner, and the Hero of the Year, Jim Carson.

Ask any of the Everyday Heroes who gathered for the Register’s second annual gala at Montage Laguna Beach on Monday evening if they consider themselves to be heroes, and they’re quick to deflect any personal praise.

Instead they’ll tell you about the people they serve, and say they’re just doing the right thing. Saving lives. Feeding the homeless. Taking care of those who served our country.

Most will even say they have been profoundly blessed, even those who lead charities on shoestring budgets or have come through a traumatic experience that led them to supporting a worthwhile cause.

The annual gala celebrated a special group of Orange County residents who improve the lives of others through their selfless acts of service. Some serve a specific Orange County city, others serve people around the world. All are inspiring.

The guest list was anchored around those profiled the Register’s 52 Everyday Heroes features in the Local section during 2014.

Montage Laguna Beach, a founding sponsor of Everyday Heroes, offered its banquet facility and dinner as part of its sponsorship support of the Everyday Heroes program. The luxury resort also awards two-night stays to Hero of the Month nominees, and has done so since the inception of Everyday Heroes in February 2013.

Montage Managing Director Rick Riess gave opening remarks, saying he figured his first experience meeting Everyday Hero nominees Jamie and Oliver Wyss would be a simple photo opportunity at the resort. Instead, when meeting the couple, Riess was profoundly humbled and moved by their story.

Oliver Wyss, a former professional soccer player, and wife Jamie founded Soccer for Hope in 1998 to raise funds and awareness for children with life threatening diseases. The Laguna Niguel couple had two young children, Hudson and Abella, who were both diagnosed with very rare cancerous brain tumors. After battling multiple recurrences and secondary cancers, both children lost their lives. Hudson at age 3 and Abella at age 11.

Freedom co-owner and CEO Aaron Kushner congratulated the Everyday Heroes in attendance, and said it was fitting to hold the Everyday Heroes reception on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

“Dr. King observed, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’” Kushner said. “It is our privilege to answer that question in the pages of the Register, and to honor your accomplishments tonight.”

Erik Rees, Chairman of the Jessie Rees Foundation, served as keynote speaker for the event. He shared some words of encouragement to his peers in the nonprofit community, advising them to celebrate and not compare accomplishments. Rees was also nominated and profiled in Everyday Heroes in September 2013. He continues his daughter’s legacy of providing JoyJars and inspiration to children fighting cancer around the world, and encourages them to Never Ever Give Up (or “NEGU” for short).

The event concluded with the presentation of the Everyday Hero of the Year Award by Roger Hogan, owner of Everyday Heroes automotive sponsor Capistrano Toyota. The award was given to Jim Carson, who serves as program manager for Rising Tide at the Orangewood Children’s Foundation. Capistrano Toyota also contributed $500 toward Carson’s favorite charity.

Carson acknowledged Oree Freeman as his special guest during his acceptance speech, a 19 year-old woman who has risen above her personal challenges as a former victim of human trafficking at age 11 to become a hero in her own right through the Orangewood program. Freeman is working and is a student at Orange Coast College, and takes time to help raise awareness on human trafficking issues.

“Oree is like one of my own children, and I plan to walk her down the aisle one day,” Carson said.

He concluded his speech by praising the contributions of others in the room.

“Any one of you could have won this award. If I could split this award into 52 pieces, I would.”

To coincide with the awards event, both Carson and Freeman were featured in a news segment that aired on CBS2 and KCAL9 on Monday evening.

Related links:

• Click here to watch Everyday Heroes discuss the importance of giving back.• Click here to watch a video showing all Everyday Heroes profiled by the Register in 2014• Click here to see a Flickr photo recap• Click here to nominate an Everyday Hero

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